Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao

20 reviews

ventellina's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Violence

kkreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Rape, Physical abuse, Ableism, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism

vynexareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It’s better to be swallowed whole than in pieces. Only then can you win. No elephant can be too big. Only then no elephant can do you harm.

After owning this book for three years and it being unread all of that time, it is such a good feeling to finally read it even though it isn't the easiest read to consume. It's so beautifully written and painful and also so hopeful even when these two girls/women are in such hopeless situations.

If you're planning on reading this book, please know that there's a lot of violence, both physically and verbally, acted upon girls and women from beginning to end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Misogyny

ncain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Trafficking, Classism, and Misogyny

Minor: Torture, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

irisfromthevillage's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

1.5

This book had been on my TBR for a long time and I knew from the summary that it would be a challenging read and there’s nothing wrong with that. My issue with the book is that it felt like trauma was being stacked without giving us real depth of character. I didn’t get out of it what I felt the book was building towards. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Torture, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Xenophobia

calster's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Beautiful writing, devastating story, unsatisfying ending 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Violence, Trafficking, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent and Drug use

Minor: Alcoholism

ninjamuffin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A raw, emotional, and powerful story about an unbreakable bond of female friendship. Read with care.

Poornima and Savitha are two compelling and complex characters that I became incredibly emotionally invested in and their journey to find each other. I liked Rao's lyrical yet direct prose and in particular I enjoyed the way she expresses her characters' thoughts and emotions. Several tragic and heartbreaking events occur throughout the novel, and Rao makes no attempt to sugar-coat them; at the same time, Rao doesn't let them drag on or let these events consume the novel to the point where it seems self-pitying.

The ending is incredibly bittersweet, and I think a lot of people can/will find it unsatisfying (I did too initially). At the same time, I think the ending does fit the novel very well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Rape

zombiezami's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I loved the descriptive writing style, and I loved Poornima and Savitha as characters.  It's hard for me to rate this because it's almost unrelentingly sad. The main characters were so resilient, but I'm so sad that they had to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Infertility, and Self harm

Minor: Child death and Racism

Colorism

margaretrose's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A heart-wrenching story with so many almost-could-be-true elements that you ache for the characters as you read.

Rao really makes you choose your own ending, as she gives you pieces of the setting and atmosphere that are so similar that make you believe that it is possible that it actually will turn out ok for Savitha and Poornima. It still isn't definite closure, you still end the book unsure that they are back together. I'm still asking the question: will they be ok?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, and Rape

howwoolatthemoon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

WHEW. That was rough. Well written, some beautiful stuff, but also a whole lot of darkness. Bad things happen. Bad. And I'm not sure the ending was worth the slog through the difficult events.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Bullying, Racism, Ableism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Trafficking, and Violence